How do drivers get to underground sidings?

[CarrotPie]

I was playing a bit of Train Sim World 2 recently on the Bakerloo Line, and it got me thinking: at stations like Elephant & Castle, where there are turnback sidings south of the station, how do drivers access them? Are there designated walking routes through the tunnels or do they just have to suck it up and hope they don't get fried? And how does it work for the turnback sidings in the Central Line core, for example, if a train is taken out of service there, does the driver wait to be picked up, or is there some secret way back onto safe, non-electrified ground?

 

[Dstock7080]

Specifically; at Elephant key protection switches are used to/from platform 3 which will keep signals at danger after contact with the signal operator. A designated walking route is available.
Central Line tunnel sidings have similar arrangements for emergency stabling of trains, requiring signal operator, station supervisor and key switches.

 

[CarrotPie]

A designated walking route is available.

Is that in the tunnel or somewhere else?

 

[Mojo]

Is that in the tunnel or somewhere else?

There are walkboards in the four foot.

Traction current is now switched off for track access as the company revised its policies about 5 years ago or so, but it used to be done with the current on.

With the exception of Terminal 5 at Heathrow (Piccadilly line), I don’t believe there are any Tube tunnel sidings you can exit without walking along the track? Normally you would change ends and walk along the track the way you came in. Down St siding on the Piccadilly you exit beyond the sand drag to Hyde Park Corner but this still requires track access, facilitated by station staff at Hyde Park Corner who have to go down and collect staff.

 

[steamybrian]

For Elephant & Castle sidings (London Road depot) there is a pedestrian entrance on the west side of London Road about 50 yards south of St. Georges Circus. It can clearly be seen on "Google maps" streetviews.

 

[Mojo]

For Elephant & Castle sidings (London Road depot) there is a pedestrian entrance on the west side of London Road about 50 yards south of St. Georges Circus. It can clearly be seen on "Google maps" streetviews.

London Road depot is different to Elephant & Castle sidings. When the OP talks about Elephant & Castle he is referring to the two overrun tunnels to the south of the platform.

London Road depot is a depot and is accessed from the running tunnel south of Waterloo.

 

[43066]

Traction current is now switched off for track access as the company revised its policies about 5 years ago or so, but it used to be done with the current on.

I used to work with an ex LU driver who had worked on the Bakerloo line (amongst others), and regularly walked into the Elephant sidings with the current on. He had pictures to prove it! Mind boggling it was ever allowed really, albeit I don’t believe there were ever any incidents of people being juiced.

 

[rebmcr]

With the exception of Terminal 5 at Heathrow (Piccadilly line), I don’t believe there are any Tube tunnel sidings you can exit without walking along the track?

In that case, the City Widened Lines conversion will be the second, with the proposed berths all spaced out to keep at least one cab end of each unit in one of the ex-BR platforms of stations along the route.

 

[Mojo]

In that case, the City Widened Lines conversion will be the second, with the proposed berths all spaced out to keep at least one cab end of each unit in one of the ex-BR platforms of stations along the route.

I was referring to sidings in single-track Tube tunnels, not those on the sub-surface or indeed on the surface.

If referring to sidings not located in Tube tunnels then it's probably the majority that have some sort of safe walking route out? White City probably being the largest such arrangement, which is entirely below ground?

 

[philthetube]

In cases where a driver has to stable in a siding with no walkways, protection would have to be in place and power would have to be off if any walking on the track was needed.

 

[43066]

In cases where a driver has to stable in a siding with no walkways, protection would have to be in place and power would have to be off if any walking on the track was needed.

That wasn’t what used to happen at Elephant sidings!

 

[philthetube]

Elephant has a walkway out though.

 

[LU_timetabler]

Officially exiting or entering any sidings on foot should be done with the current turned off. For instance the train that stables nightly at Victoria Sidings on the Victoria Line, the driver after shutting down the train should wait for current off before exiting. Whether he/she does or not is up to them, but the staff taxi collecting them is timed for them to exit the sidings after current is off.
The Bakerloo Line now only stables 1 train in one of the Elephant platforms and not the sidings behind for this very reason. Before this rule was changed the Bakerloo Line regularly used to stable 2 or 3 trains at Elephant every night.

 

[bramling]

I used to work with an ex LU driver who had worked on the Bakerloo line (amongst others), and regularly walked into the Elephant sidings with the current on. He had pictures to prove it! Mind boggling it was ever allowed really, albeit I don’t believe there were ever any incidents of people being juiced.

It was standard practice to have current live, indeed some of the sidings don’t have an “authorised walking route” at all.

Things kicked off a few years ago when a group went to pick up a defective train which had been left in a siding (Kennington I think), one of the unions kicked off, ORR got involved, and from that point onwards traction current had to go off. Initially this applied only where there wasn’t a designated walking route, but seems to have progressed to everywhere.

Going on the track at all with the juice live is now something of an issue. Rather ironic that not very many years ago at all anyone requesting juice off would have probably found themselves answering questions as to why they added extra time to an incident.

 

[80073]

Drivers might not just need to change ends! Many years ago, there were reports that metalwork at the end of the tunnel at, I think, Elephant & Castle, was being damaged by uric acid. I won't go into details.

Does anyone else remember this story? And what was done to solve this problem?

I've long been an admirer of RailUK Forums. I would never have guessed that my first post would be on this subject!

 

[D365]

I've long been an admirer of RailUK Forums. I would never have guessed that my first post would be on this subject!

Congratulations

 

[Taunton]

I wonder what the procedure is on the DLR, which has various occasional-use sidings around the system, including a couple I can think of completely surrounded by live running tracks.

 

[CarrotPie]

I wonder what the procedure is on the DLR, which has various occasional-use sidings around the system, including a couple I can think of completely surrounded by live running tracks.

Are there not elevated access platforms for those?

 

[TheManWho]

I wonder what the procedure is on the DLR, which has various occasional-use sidings around the system, including a couple I can think of completely surrounded by live running tracks.

There are walking routes from the sidings around the DLR network to either platforms or compounds

Depending on the location, procedure would be for trains to be held while staff walk to/from sidings if access/egress involves walking on the tracks, however, power would not be removed